The accompanying press release notes that Uber’s
self-driving unit is currently valued at $7.25 billion.

As Uber has announced going public later this year, that figure is significant to potential investors. Uber’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) is expected to raise roughly $10 billion for the ride company and would push the company toward a $100 billion valuation.

Recent investments are not surprising to anyone who has been
watching Uber’s self-driving division growth. In 2018, Uber also received $500
million from Toyota, specifically to accelerate self-driving tech efforts.

One such effort included a retrofitted fleet of Toyota
Siennas to road test Uber’s autonomous technology before hopeful deployment as
early as 2021.

As said by Khosrowshahi, “This investment and our strong
partnership with the Toyota Group are a testament to the incredible work of our
ATG team, and the exciting future ahead for this important project, alongside
great partners.”

The funding is a vote of confidence in UberATG tech from the
Japanese automotive industry, after a few unfortunate instances in UberATG
development in the last year.

For example, last year an Uber self-driving car hit a woman
who later died, forcing the company to end testing in Tempe, Arizona. The
company also had a legal complication with self-driving competitor Waymo, which
was settled out of court.

The recent $1 billion in funding is a huge step forward for
UberATG.

As noted by Khosrowshahi, “The development of automated
driving technology will transform transportation as we know it” and the funding
“will help maintain Uber’s position at the forefront of that transformation.”